Books, Publications and Films
'' Herbai Medicine-tact or fiction?''
S
ince time immemorial, man has made use of plants and herbs to cure disease and heal injuries. ln order to arouse public awareness of the existence and value of medicinal plants, a number of UN specialised agencies have joined together to co- produce a film on the subject.The film opens in Mexico where we see lndians gathering a plant called barbasco, used for many years as a heart medicine but which is now be- ing exploited for its contraceptive properties. For the vast majority of the rural world in developing countries, · the only form of medical care that is available and trusted is the traditional healer, who often uses a combination of religion and herbs. Where one ends and the other begins is sometimes difficult to determine.
From Mexico, we move to Egypt and see something of the wide variety of medicinal plants that are sold in the herbai pharmacies there. Medicines made from plants are also available in developed parts of the world and much research is going on to deter:
mine exactly which constituents are responsible for the pharmacological activity observed.
We see in Africa however, as in other parts of the world, that the .destruction of forests has caused the loss of many plant species which were used in herbai remedies. This can have a serious effect on the economy of countries who rely heav- ily on medicinal plants, since the cost of replacing them with chemical pharmaceuticals is htgh. ln Vietnam, eighty per cent of the medicine used cornes from plants and each village has its own green dispensary.
From Vietnam, the film moves on to lndia where the classic science of ayurvedic medicine is practised and
relies to a great extent on herbai medications. One often forgotten facet of these plants is that some of them are also very rich in natural vitamins. ln lndia, vitamin A capsules made from plants are used to prevent xerophthalmia.
The last country that we visit in the film is China, where herbai medicine
ln the Egyptian desert, a traditional healer seeks out the herbs that are valued for their healing properties. A sti/1 from the film "Herbai medicine- fact or fiction."
Photo WHO
has been used for more than 4,000 years and is today combined success- fully with modern medicine. We see a pharmaceutical factory that manufac- tures only herbally derived medicines and for many they are the medica- tions of choice. As we complete our herbai tour of the world, we are left wondering what riches still remain to be uncovered.
The film "Herbai Medicine: fact or fiction?" is in 16 mm, colour, 27 minutes. lt is available on sale in European countries from the World Health Organization, Geneva and, for the rest of the world, from UNICEF,
New York. •
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